Anasazi: Arch and Ruin - Southern Outlier Loop

My Dad and his lady friend, Sue, were in town for the past 5 days and after many days of cooking, fishing and shopping, they wanted to go see some Anasazi sites. I've been thinking about guided loops lately and considered going west into the Great Sage Plain and Hovenweep. In the end, we settled on a southern loop that offered a good story: starting at the biggest post chacoan site of Aztec we'd visit four sites each degrading from 3 stories of restored glory to mounds of rubble covered in artifacts. They were game and the day was hot, but awesome.

Our first stop was about 30 miles south of Durango. Anasazi Arch is a fantastic arch, only 5 miles off highway 550, but rarely visited.

After the arch, we toured the Aztec museum and ruins. I doubt that Anasazi great kivas were roofed two stories tall - I think Earl Morris made a grand miscalculation - but it is cool. I signed up for a tour of the East Ruins. Along with the North Ruins, I'd love to explore this off limits area more closely (although I hate guided tours).

Next stop was 10 miles south, at the terminus of the Great North Road: Salmon Ruins. This is only the second time I've visited Salmon and loved the new-ish museum. Great site.

The infamous Tower Kiva. Sue was stunned to learn that the burned bodies of 16 kids were found here. Classic Chacoan stonework. Type III?

We headed south, into the San Juan Basin to another site that I've not visited in years: Twin Angels, overlooking Kutz Canyon and the presumed Great North Road.

Exposed kiva wall since the Morris excavation of 1915. Great stonework at the few exposed walls of this site. Almost no pottery though.

Lastly, we headed back northwest to a special place that I've only "discovered" in the past year: Squaw Springs Great House. This picture looks out over the plaza of the village with the Chacoan great house rubble mound in the distance.

Squaw Springs has as much pottery and artifacts as any site I've ever visited (only one other is close). This is a typical look down, don't step on anything and shoot type of picture. The locality extends for nearly a mile. Although the great house is small, the village is huge. In a way, this is like the Newcomb area.

1/2 arrowhead? probably not, but something man made.